Accounting machine control means



Sept. 30, 1952 w. A. ANDERSON I ACCOUNTING MACHINE CONTROL MEANS K Filed Dc. 25-. 1949 R m m m A W O O z.

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A T7ORNE) NUMBER VALUE TAX "NUMBER VALUE T'AX i7 4 WW Patented Sept. 30, 1952 ACCOUNTING MACHINE CGNTEOL MEANS Walter A., Anderson, Fairfield, Conn., assignor to Underwood Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application December 23,1949, Serial No. 134,624

The present invention relates to accounting machines having a travelingpaper carriage and constructed and arrangedv to compute in a plurality of columns on, a worksheet. This invention is specifically concerned with improved means for automatically controlling the various functionsof an accounting: machine as the carriage thereof is tabulated to its various columnar positions. A general type of machine'to which the present invention .is applicableiis described in detail in O. J. 'Sundstrand Patents Nos. 1,946,505 and 2,088,982. Thefcopending application No. 134,622, filed December 23,.1949by O. W. Swanson, shows certainimprovements over the structure shownin these Sundstrand patents. I

A common form of work which machines of the type with which the present invention is concerned are called upon toperform isthe listing in one column of folio numbers or otheridentifying indicia, listing amounts such as purchase prices in a second column and the listing of the amount of tax in a third column. 1 The entering of the amounts and an automatic tabulation to the nextcolumnar' position is accomplished, as is well known, by acycling o't-the machine instituted bydepressien ofmamotor "bar; Immediately after beginning its'tabulating movement after the entry of the amount in the third column, acontrol deviceonthe carriage strikes a lever which causes an automatic carriage return to the first column. position. "Likewise when'the carriage is in the third column position a control device on the carriage actuates a lever which causes a latch. to be released so thatx'during' the entry cycle in the third column the'roller platen will be line spaced automatically, as fully explained in the Sundstran-d Patent No. 2,088,982 referred to above. I

When listing the type of ,items referred to above, it frequently happens that there will occur a number of consecutive'amounts upon which no tax ischarged, in which case it will be appre ciated that tabulation to thethird column posi-- tion is undesirable. It will'be obvious that the description of the type of work-to be performed, as noted above, is purely by way-of example. As is well known, machines of this typemay be pro--' vided with automatic controls for a wide variety of accounting set-ups. Thus the machine may be conditioned for adding in one register in the first column, for adding in another register in the second column and for adding in both registers in the third column. Likewise the machine may be conditioned for subtracting in any of the col gs chime. (or. 235-605) 2 umns desired. The present invention isonly con-, cerned with the provision of means for. cutting out the third column when desired, that is, to return the carriage. directly from the second column position without thenecessity fortabulating to the third column. I

Provision haspreviously beenmade ofa key located upon the keyboard which when depressed will cause a power carriage return from any position. However, in order to enter the second column amount into the registerv of the machine, themotor bar must be operated and with the automatic controls arranged for listing in three columns, operation of the motor bar in the sec-- ond column will cause the carriage to tabulate to the third columnposition; If no item is to be entered in the third column the operator must either depress the motor bar in this third column position or depress the special carriage return key in order to get the carriage back in position for beginning the next line. g e g It is an object of the present invention to proe vide improved means whereby, in a machine of, the type referred to above, the carriagemaybe automatically returned to the first column after the entry of the amount in the second column, without the necessity of vtabulating to thethird column or of depressing a special key, in cases where no entry is to be madein the third .col

umn. I Y

It is a further object of the present invention to provide ,a control. device which moves with the carriage and which-while normally effective, to select a register in a certain columnar-position, may be readily adjustedto cause an addi--;

tional function in that columnar position, such as the function of automatic carriage return and/or line spacing.

These and further objects, features and advantages will become readily apparent as the description of a preferred embodiment. of the invention proceeds. v

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device in position upon a machine andshowing the various automatie controls which are operated thereby,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the automatic controls, 1

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the deviceof the present invention, and,

Fig. 4 shows an example of the type of work which the present invention is designed to facili: tate. I

-In Fig. l is-shown a brackm? Ni which is one f Several fixed to the frame ofthe machine in a manner not shown and of no importance insofar as the present invention is concerned. Stationarily mounted upon the bracket l and upon the other brackets not shown, is plate only part of which is shown. A pivot post |2 is secured in the plate I in any suitable manner, and swivably mounted upon the post l2 are a plurality of function control elements |3, |4, I5 and I6, which control the functions of subtraction, non-add, selection of B register and paper feed respectively in a manner in which the present invention is not concerned but which is described in the copending application of O. W. Swanson, referred to above. The element or bail |6 is the only one with which the present invention is at all concerned; the mode of operation or the particular functions controlled by elements |3, I4 and I5 form no part of this invention and are merely indicated by way of example.

A control carriage is arranged to move in tabulating and return directions across'the machine and this carriage is provided with a plate H. The manner of mounting the plate H of course forms no part of this invention, it being suflicient for a complete understanding of the invention to point out that in its tabulating movement the plate I! progresses from right to left as viewed in Fig. 1.

The plate I! is provided with a series of notches |8 along one edge and with a series of openings IS. A large number of automatic control devices or column units may be mounted upon the plate I! for controlling the function of the machine in its various columnar positions. When working with a form of the type shown in Fig. 4, it will be understood that three column units will be provided. Two of these units or devices are shown in Fig. 1 at and 2|. Each of the devices 20 and 2| is in the form of a generally U-shaped member having an attaching flange 22. The flange 22 of the unit 20'is provided with a downwardly extending ear 23 for cooperating with any desired one of the notches |8 and with an elongated slot 24 through which extends a screw 25 for holding said unit in position upon the plate The U-shaped portions of the column units are positioned with the open end of the U facing the plate H, as best seen in Fig. 3. A series of slots 26 are milled through the closed end of the U. In the present showing, there are four slots 26 in each unit but it is to be understood that in some instances there may be many more. There is a slot 26 in each control device corresponding to each of the controlelements |3|6.

From an inspection of Fig. 2 it is apparent that the slots 26 are out deep enough to allow a cammed end 21, provided upon each of the control elements |3-|6, to pass through as the column unit moves under said control elements. The control elements normally rest upon a rod 28 and only perform their controlling function when they are raised from the Fig. 2 position.

For causing the control devices to operate one or more of the elements |3-|6, a means is provided for blocking the slot 26 corresponding to the particular element which is to be affected. This blocking means is merely a block-like member 29, reduced in section at its lower end and fitted into the slot 26 with its reduced end extending between the downwardly extending arms of the U, as best seen in Fig. 2.

Machines of the type with which this invention is useful are provided with tabulator stops so that the carriage will come to rest in proper position for printing in the various columns of the work form being employed. The above described column units of course perform their controlling functions while the carriage is resting in its various columnar positions. The particular tabulator stop shown for purposes of the present description is indicatedin Fig. 1 at 30 with a secondary or temporary stop being shown at 3|. The particular construction and mode of operation of the tabulator stops of course form no part of this invention but the particular ones shown are fully described in my prior Patent No. 2,330,660 wherein the parts 30 and 31 correspond to the present parts 30 and 3| respectively. The tabulator stop 3|) is normally in position to stop the tabulating movement by cooperation with the .ear'23 ofthe column unit 20 or with a corresponding part of the unit 2| to be later described. During tabulation the stop 30 is momentarily lowered to allow the ear 23 to pass by and is then raised to a position to coact with the corresponding part of the next column unit.

At 32 is indicated a lever which when moved toward the left will institute an automatic carriage return to the first column position. The particular type of carriage return employed is of no consequence to this invention but the lever 32 shown herein may conveniently correspond to the lever 36 of Patent No? 1,901,135 issued March 14, 1933, to O. J. Sundstrand.

As previously pointed out, it is common to provide means for instituting a paper feed operation when the carriage is automatically returned to the firstcolurnn position. The particular manner of performing this operation is not a part of this invention, but in Fig. 1 at 33 has been indicated a slide corresponding to the slide 1102 of the'Sundstrand Patent No. 2,088,982, hereinabove referred to. The slide 33 moves toward the end of bail l6 during each cycle of the-machine but as long as the ball is in its normal position, said slide cannot be given suihcient movement to cause a paper feeding operation.

The column unit 26 is the one employed in the first column when using a form such as shown in Fig. 4 and-it will be noted that the blocking means 29 is in the slot 26 corresponding to the non-add" control element I4 so that the numbers listedin the first column, which may be folio numbers or other identifying indicia, will not be added into any of the registers. It will be noted that the ear 23 extends far enough to coact with the tabulator stops 30 and 3| but does not extend far enough to strike the automatic return lever 32. Hence, when the machine is cycled to print the number in the first column, a tabulation is instituted, as iswell known, and the carriage moves to the left until the column unit 2| strikes the tab stop 30. During this tabulating movement the ear 23 of column unit 20 passes by the lever 32 without" striking it.

The basic column unit 2| is quite similar to the unit 20. As best seen in Fig. 3, the unit 2| comprises a generally U-shaped portion having slots 26 milled therethrough similarly to the unit 20. The basic unit 2| has an attaching flange 22 provided with a bent down ear 35 for fitting into one of the notches la in the plate H and is provided with an elongated slot 36 through which extends a screw 31 for securing said unit firmly to the plate H. A slot blocking means 29 in this instance is provided in the slot corresponding to the control lever l5 so that B register will be selected in this column and the amounts printed on the form under the heading value 43 in the slide 39 and is'secured'in the flange 22. A spring element 44 has an opening therethrough embracing the shank of the screw 42 and is held in place by the head of the screw. The spring 44 is provided with a projection 45 for cooperating with either of a pair of spaced dimples 46 provided in the slide 39.

The slide 39 is provided with a finger piece in the form of an upstanding flange 41 so that it may be conveniently moved between the full line and the dotted line positions shown in Fig. 1. The projection 45 on the spring element 44, by cooperating with one or the other of the dimples l6 serves to resiliently detent the slide in either of its positions.

A member 48 is provided with a positioning tab 49 fitted within a notch 50 provided in the slide 39 and is secured to said slide by means of a screw l. The member 48 has a portion 52 fitted loosely about the U-shaped portion of the unit 2 I.

In instances where amounts are to be printed in all three columns of the form, the slide 39 is positioned as shown in full lines in Fig. 1.. In this position, as the carriage tabulates to the second column, which in the example given is the column controlled by the unit 2|, the left hand flange 4| of the slide 38 strikes against the tabulator stop 30 to thereby bring the carriage to rest in the proper position. The blocking means 29 selects the B register as stated above. After the entering and printing cycle the carriage tabulates to the third column position where it is again arrested by a column unit, not shown. It will be apparent that as the carriage is tabulated, the flange M will pass by the automatic return lever 32 without affecting same when the slide 39 is in its full line position.

When it becomes apparent to the operator that there will be a series of entries to be made not requiring the use of the third column, the tax" column in the example illustrated, the slide 39 is merely movedfrom the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position. With the slide in the dotted line position, the machine still performs its usual function in the second column because the block 29 continues to select the B register, this being unaffected by the position of slide 39. However the slot 28 corresponding to the'control element i6 is now blocked by the portion 52 of the slide so that instead of the control element It merely passing through the slot said element is raised. This raising of the element I6, removes its blocking end from the path or the slide 33 so that during the entry cycle, the slide 33 will be free to move its full extent and thereby cause a paper feeding operation as above pointed out.

Likewise, in the dotted line position of the slide 39, the flange 4! moves to a position for cooperating with the automatic return lever 32. Thus, as the carriage escapes, instead of completely tabulating to the third column position, the. flange 4| contacts the lever 32 thereby causing the carriage Without the slide as, or withthe slide as in its full line position, the carriage escapes to the third column position after'the entry of the amount in the second column in the same manner as described with respect't'o tabulating'from the first to the second column. l

The right hand column unit, in the example illustrated the unit for the third column, not shown, is provided with a flange similar to the flange 23 of the column unit 20 but long enough to operate the lever 32 as the carriage begins to tabulate out of that columnand thereby cause the carriage to return to the first column posi-. tion.

Thus it will be seen that the present invention, while exceedingly simple, effects a consider- ,able saving of time and wear by allowing the machine to which it is attached to be conveniently used for operating in a large number of columns or in a lesser number of columns.

Having hereinabove described my invention I claim:

1. In an accounting machine having a traveling carriage and constructed and arranged to print and compute in a plurality of columns on a work sheet, a plurality of elements for controlling various functions of the machine, a member for instituting an automatic carriage return operation and a member for normally preventing an automatic line spacing operation but which may be moved to a position for allowing an automatic line spacing operation, a control device movable with the traveling carriage and provided with means for operating at least one of said elements, a slide carried by said control device, means for detenting said slide in a plurality of positions on said device, and means carried by said slide for operating the member for institutingan automatic carriage return operation and for moving the member for normally preventing an automatic line spacing operation when said slide is in one of its detented positions without interfering with the normal functions of said control device.

2. In an accounting machine having a traveling carriage and constructed and arranged to print and compute in a plurality of columns on a work sheet, a plurality of elements for controlling various functions of the machine, a member for instituting an automatic carriage return operation and a member for normally preventing an automatic line spacing operation but which may be moved to a position for allowing an automatic line spacing operation, a plurality of control devices movable with the traveling carriage, means provided upon one of said control devices for operating the member for instituting an automatic carriage return operation and for moving the member for normally preventing an automatic line spacing operation, and a slide car-' ried by another of said control devices and movable to two positions in one of which positions it is effective to operate themember for instituting an automatic carriage return operation and for moving the member for normally preventing an automatic line spacing operation'and in the other of which positions it is ineffective.

3. A control device adapted to be attached to a traveling carriage of an accounting machine, said device comprising a first element having a generally U-shaped portion, a plurality of slots extending transversely through said U-shaped portion, a second element slidably mounted upon said first elemenameans on said second element;-

embracing the U-shaped portion of said first element', 2; finger piece on said. second .element whereby said second element may bez'moved' relative to said firstelemenabetweenya position wherein the means on; said: second-elementblocks one of said slots and a position wherein said means does not block any of said slots, and means.

REFERENCES" mini)" 5 file of this patenfi:

The ieilowi ng references: are of record; in the UNITED STATES PATENTS,

Number Name Date Sundsm'andv Mar. 14, 1933 Sundstrand Feb. 13,1934 Muller: .Aug. 27', 1935 Christian June 1, 1937 Sundstrand- ,Aug..3,, 1937 Sundstrand .Mar. 19,1940 Anderson Jan. 20, 1942 Anderson- June 9;,1942 Sundstrand: wJan. 12, 1943 Antlersozm.v 0011.24, 194i 

